The Amazing Spider-Man 4

Chapter 11

Alistair Smythe scrambled in his lab, desperately trying to come up with a new plan. By now, it was well after midnight, and he'd at last managed to recover from the shock of the destruction of spider-slayer 2.0 at the hands of its intended target. He'd been so certain of its success this time, designing more specifically to counteract and overwhelm Spider-Man's abilities, but apparently it made no difference. The most frustrating part was that, based on the footage the machine had captured before its destruction, there seemed to be no specific weakness that Spider-Man had exploited. Rather, he had appeared to simply burst from the spider slayer's grasp after a great deal of struggling, as if he simply summoned enough willpower to do so.

There had to be a more specific reason though, and Smythe was going to find it. More importantly, he was going to make certain that he had a plan prepared for when he got another inevitable call from the people who had essentially hired him in the first place. The way he figured it, if he had at least some form of good news to tell them, he might be able to persuade them to maintain the terms of their bargain rather than cutting ties with him. Smythe knew that the odds were most certainly not in his favor right now to say the least, but he was not about to give up. This last one had been so close; if he could make just the right changes...

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the lab. However, the individual did not wait for Smythe to open it, instead taking the matter into his own hands and walking up to him. This individual was a little shorter than he was, but more than made up for it by how broad and large his overall figure looked. More interestingly, the man's head was shaped irregularly, almost looking like a dome. It was the kind of thing he would've pointed out back in his Oscorp days, when it likely would've been someone beneath him.

Now that the tables were reversed, Smythe was pretty sure that wouldn't be the smartest move.

"We need to talk," the man said as he finally came within conversational range.

"Look, I know that you're displeased," Smythe replied, already feeling like he was on the verge of begging.

"Whether I'm displeased matters less to you than what my boss thinks," the man interrupted him, his tone stern and direct, "and as you can imagine, he is very frustrated with your failures so far, Mr. Smythe. He's been reconsidering whether you're capable of living up to your end of the bargain."

"I am," Smythe insisted, knowing all evidence had pointed to the contrary so far. "This one was much closer this time; I know I'm on the right track. Next time..."

"Awful presumptuous of you to assume there will be a next time," the man replied, silencing him. He then walked over to some of Smythe's equipment and parts, appearing to observe and even study it.

"You know," the man continued, "there was a time in our organization where we never would've come to someone like you. When a problem liked Spider-Man needed fixing, we'd just send our best people to handle the matter. Unfortunately, times change, and we need to as well, but perhaps the human element is what you're missing, Mr. Smythe."

"Excuse me?" Smythe asked.

"Machines only work as well as the people who make them," the man explained, "so perhaps you should take a more...active role in the proceedings going forward."

"I'm not sure what you mean?" Smythe said.

"If you're as smart as you say you are, you'll figure it out," the man said, "but first, I need you to convince me why my boss should continue this partnership in the first place."

"Well, like I said, this version came much closer to finishing him," Smythe explained. "I've been analyzing the footage, studying what happened, and I know what it will take to produce a slayer that will finish the job this time."